CSIG ROUNDTABLE
Held at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting 2010
November 19, 2010

RESEARCH ETHICS
Studying Artifacts of Uncertain Origin

This Round Table considered how the field should deal with the controversial issue of studying, exhibiting, and publishing artifacts whose origins are contested or unknown. Our brief exchange of views contributed to a clearer understanding of researcher responsibility and a cogent statement about how we can collectively and as individuals combat abuse and illegal trafficking in archaeological objects of study.

Organized by Rick Hauser
Senior Staff, Archaeological Expedition to Urkesh
           Click here for a PDF of Hauser's introductory remarks

Wth the participation of:

Christina Kahrl Brody
Assistant Registrar, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Author, “Studying the Skeletons in the Closet: Unprovenienced Archeological Material in Museums.”

[Unprovenienced artifacts in museum collections] are a sort of “skeleton in the closet”. They are not researched, exhibited, or used for educational purposes, and are certainly not published. While this is ethically and legally a safe approach, it abandons the museum’s mission. . . . Research of a collection is not only the obligation of a museum; it is included in the very definition of the institution.
Click here for a PDF of a draft version of Brody's comments

Zahi Hawass (recorded intervention)
Secretary General, The Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt
Author, “Inside the Egyptian Museum . . .”

Regardless of whether an artifact has a known origin or not, it is still of academic and scientific value and should certainly be studied. You can’t ignore it! [Without this,] the objects would live in the dark, all the time.

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David I. Owen (recorded intervention)
Bernard and Jane Schapiro Professor of Ancient Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Cornell University
Author, “Censoring Knowledge: The Case for the Publication of Unprovenanced Artifacts.”

Objects have value outside of context. This bugaboo that has been promoted . . . that context is everything  is exactly that—it’s absolute nonsense.

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Elizabeth C. Stone (recorded intervention)
Professor, Department of Anthropology, SUNY at Stony Brook
Author, “Archaeological Site Looting: The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Southern Iraq.”

My basic feeling [about] a lot of the material that comes out, is that (A) it is meaningless outside its context, so I don‘t know why you are studying it. And (B) you haven’t the faintest idea whether it’s real or fake.

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Christopher A. Tuttle, Moderator
Associate Director, American Center of Oriental Research Amman, Jordan
Author, The Nabataean Coroplastic Arts: A New Approach for Studying Figurines, Plaques, Vessels, and Other Clay Objects.